SOE News

School Counseling named 2006 Outstanding Counselor Education Program

Oct. 13, 2006

The School Counseling, M.Ed., program at the School of Education recently received recognition when it was named the 2006 Outstanding Counselor Education Program by the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES). The award was presented Sept. 9 at the 2006 SACES Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Entries were judged on the quality of their pre-service and in-service training in areas such as counseling and technology, career development, counseling supervision and more.

Colleen Yeager (`02), a school counselor at Carrboro Elementary School and elementary vice president of the North Carolina School Counselor Association, was one of several alumni who nominated the program for the award. In her nomination letter, Yeager cited the program’s growth-enhancing internships, excellent counselor supervision and challenging course assignments as some of its strengths.

“The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Counselor Education Program allowed me to become an extremely effective elementary school counselor,” wrote Yeager. “The program is also the reason I am a board member of the North Carolina School Counselor Association. They [the faculty] strongly encouraged us to advocate for our profession and become leaders.”

Jill Cook, a 1991 graduate of the program, also offered her enthusiastic support for the School’s nomination. “As director of programs for the American School Counselor Association,” she wrote, “I have the opportunity to work with more than 18,000 school counseling professionals across the United States. Daily, I am reminded of the professional foundation I received at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I believe strongly that it was the most rewarding educational experience I have had.”

The School Counseling, M.Ed., program is a 14-month, 60 credit-hour program that focuses exclusively on school counseling. Three full-time faculty members are associated with the program: program coordinator, Dr. John Galassi, Dr. Patrick Akos and Dr. Duane Brown.

The program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and by the state of North Carolina.